


Late Night Call

by whumpwriterforlife



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Broken Bones, Friendship, Gen, Hurt Malcolm Bright, JT being awesome, JT to the rescue, Malcolm is a walking disaster, Whump, concussion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23963644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whumpwriterforlife/pseuds/whumpwriterforlife
Summary: JT really wants to sleep, he deserves to be asleep; unfortunately for him, life has a different plan for him. Or why inviting human disasters into your life is harmful to your sleep.
Relationships: Malcolm Bright & JT Tarmel
Comments: 13
Kudos: 156





	Late Night Call

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SoulfireInc](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoulfireInc/gifts), [Adrenalineshots](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adrenalineshots/gifts).



> My first contribution to the fandom. A huge thank you to everyone who helped me with this, especially SoulfireInc and Adrenalineshots <3 I hope you all enjoy this.

JT groaned, his eyes fluttering open when his phone started ringing. He was tempted to ignore the call. He couldn’t think of anyone who would call him in the dead of night if it wasn’t work related. JT, however, was off duty for the next two days. There was no reason for anyone to call him. Closing his eyes, JT pulled the duvet cover over his head. Whatever it was, could wait until morning. 

The caller was persistent though. After the phone had rang for what had to have been at least five minutes, JT gave up. He reached for the phone, cursing under his breath. This had better be important. 

“What?” JT asked gruffly. 

“I- uh, sorry. It’s- it’s late. I shouldn’t have called. I’ll just- I didn’t-” 

Recognizing Malcolm’s voice, JT sat up. Something was off. Malcolm sounded distressed, his words slurring together. All thoughts of sleep forgotten, JT looked at the digital clock next to the bed. 2:34 AM. Why was Malcolm calling him so late?

“Bright? What’s up?” 

There was a pause on the other end, followed by a shaky breath. “I think I need help.” 

Malcolm sounded oddly detached and confused. JT cursed. He hopped off the bed, throwing on the clothes from yesterday. At least Tally was visiting her aunt which meant JT didn’t have to worry about waking her up. “What’s going on? Where are you?” 

“Do you remember the place where we caught the parrot guy?”

“Yeah. The old corner store by your home. Is that where you are?” JT was already planning the shortest route to the location. There wouldn’t be much traffic at this time of the night which meant he could possibly get to Malcolm in ten to fifteen minutes. Grabbing his jacket and keys, JT headed for the door. 

“Mmmh, I think so. That’s where the car hit me anyway.” 

“What? You were hit by a car?” JT stopped dead in his tracks, his hand hovering over the door handle. He didn’t know why he was surprised anymore. Malcolm had an uncanny ability to find trouble everywhere. It was just _logical_ that he would get hit by a car at some point. “Did you call the cops?”

“Uh, no?” Malcolm replied. JT groaned. He should have known. It was hard enough to get him to call for backup, of course he wouldn’t call the cops after being hit by a freaking car. _Where would the point in that be?_

“I mean, I didn’t even see the car and by the time I came back around-” 

“You blacked out?” JT exclaimed before Malcolm could even finish the sentence. It was more than likely that Malcolm had at least a concussion but most likely his injuries didn’t end there. JT made a mental note to drag him to a hospital as soon as he found him. He wasn’t going to let his disaster of a friend off the hook that easily. Hospital would act as a punishment as well. Maybe Malcolm would think twice before going on a walk in the middle of the night next time. 

“How bad are you hurt?” JT questioned as he slid into the driver’s seat of his car. JT would have considered calling an ambulance to Malcolm's location, but he knew his friend would most likely run at the first sight of it. He would just have to drag Malcolm to see a doctor himself. 

Malcolm didn’t answer. 

“Bright, stay with me!” JT ordered as he tore through the streets. Worry gnawed at his insides. He was used to Malcolm being all cocky and confident. The silence was unnerving. “Keep talking.”

A few moments later Malcolm spoke up, his voice breathy, “But I’m tired.” 

“I swear to God if you fall asleep I will tell Gil,” JT threatened. 

“Mmhm, you’re evil,” Malcolm whined. “What do I talk about?” 

“I don’t know, anything! Just stay on the line. I’ll be there soon.” JT stepped on the gas pedal. A speeding ticket was the least of his worries. He kept his eyes on the road, grunting in approval when Malcolm started talking. When JT arrived at his destination, he wasted no time getting out of the car. Malcolm had fallen silent a while ago. 

“Bright!” he called out. Malcolm was slumped against a street light, his chin resting against his chest. Letting out a string of curses, JT dropped to his knees next to him. He reached forward hesitantly but drew his hand back when Malcolm turned to look at him. A hiss escaped his lips when he saw the blood covering the right side of Malcolm’s face. They would definitely be making a trip to the hospital. 

“You’re here,” Malcolm said, frowning slightly. “Did you break the law to get here so fast?” 

JT ignored the question, instead turning to assess Malcolm’s condition. Aside from the head wound, JT couldn’t make out any visible injuries. Malcolm was cradling his right arm against his midsection. Either his arm was hurting or he had busted ribs - or both. 

“Does your back hurt? Neck?” JT asked, bringing his gaze up. Back injuries would be very bad, and he would be forced to call an ambulance if there were signs of one. 

“I bet you broke the speed limit to get here,” Malcolm stated, the corners of his lips twitching up. “You do care about me!” 

“Bright, focus!” JT nearly snapped, giving him an unimpressed look. “Either you tell me what hurts or I will call an ambulance - and Gil.”

Malcolm held his gaze for a moment, clearly trying to figure out whether or not JT would actually go through with his threat. 

“A concussion, right arm’s broken, bruised ribs and what is most likely a sprained ankle,” he then listed casually, shifting his gaze over to his right ankle. “If you just give me a ride back to my apartment, I can deal with this on my own. It’s not a big deal.” 

If Malcolm didn’t have a concussion, JT would have smacked him. 

“Oh no, that’s not happening. I’m taking you to the hospital to get checked out by a professional,” JT scoffed. He took a hold of Malcolm’s uninjured arm and hoisted him upright, steadying him when he faltered. Malcolm’s eyes flickered shut as he groaned. 

“You’re evil,” Malcolm complained half-heartedly while allowing JT to help him limp towards the car. “You told me you wouldn’t.” 

“I told you I wouldn’t call an ambulance,” JT corrected him, “And you’re clearly not in the condition to be left alone. Gil would kill me if I let you skip the hospital and go home looking like that and I happen to like living.” 

Neither of them said anything after that. They were halfway to the hospital before the silence became overbearing. JT gripped the steering wheel tightly, sparing a glance in Malcolm’s direction. Malcolm was tense, thrumming his fingers against his leg as he stared out of the side window. JT felt like he should say something but he had never been good at this sort of thing. Gil knew how to talk and get through to Malcolm, but JT wasn’t Gil. Dani understood Malcolm better than him too. JT had no idea why Malcolm had called _him_ when he could’ve contacted anyone.

“Why did you call me?” 

“Huh?” Malcolm turned his attention to JT, a confused look on his face. 

“Why did you call me? Why not call Gil or Dani?” 

“Honestly, I was kind of out of it when I called you,” Malcolm told him. “I knew Gil would freak out when I called him. He always goes into papa bear mode when something happens to me. And Dani, well, even I’m not stupid enough to wake her up in the middle of the night. That left you.” 

JT couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips. In a way, he felt honored Malcolm trusted him enough to call him. The two of them had gotten off to a rough start. They still sometimes had difficulty working together but they had come a long way. When Malcolm had called him, JT had been more than a little concerned. Even though he wouldn’t admit it, the younger man had come to mean a lot to him over time. Malcolm sure as hell could use as many people as possible to keep him out of trouble. If JT had to adopt the role of a big brother to make sure Malcolm took care of himself, so be it.

“Come on,” JT spoke up as he pulled into the hospital parking lot, “Let’s get you checked out.” 

The good thing about being a big brother meant he also had front row seats to watch the “papa bear” tear into Malcolm the next morning. 


End file.
